Lizzie Holt
Lizzie spent the first nineteen years of her life in a small, tight-knit community on an oceangoing barge. It was her and her mother and four other residents. As an only child, her mother was extremely protective of her and was reluctant to let her do anything she considered even slightly unsafe. As she grew older, her willingness to listen to her mother declined. She wanted to get out and explore the world beyond what she could see on the barge. This eventually led to her volunteering to go fishing whenever she got the chance. The barge had two small kayak-like boats with outriggers they used to go out into the open water in search of food. The fishing expeditions were quite boring and predictable, and she wasn’t allowed to go out of sight of the barge, but she didn’t care. She was finally on the open water, at least for short periods of time. During one of her many fishing trips, she hadn’t been paying attention to the weather or the waves and drifted several miles from the barge. This ordinarily wouldn’t have been a problem, it was large enough to spot and she knew the direction it had been going. Had she watched the clouds she’d have been able to make it back, but a storm took her by surprise. It wasn’t a severe storm, but when you’re in open water in something the size of a kayak it doesn’t take much to fear for your life. Hanging onto the boat for dear life, she didn’t notice when the paddle fell out until after the storm was over and the waves had calmed. The only gear she had was the compound bow she’d made from scavenged parts, a dozen arrows and a small knife. Nothing she was going to be able to use to paddle back to the barge, not that it mattered. She’d become turned around in the waves and had no idea where she was or what direction home was in and she had no food or water. Luckily it was only just over a day before she was spotted and picked up by Sherman. Without a clue where the barge was, they set off in what she thought was the correct direction but it quickly became clear that it wasn’t. Stopping at one of the many floating settlements scattered around the world, she asked around if anyone had seen it but nobody had. Faced with the option to stay in a settlement with people she didn’t know or stay with the person she’d only met a few weeks ago she chose to stay with Sherman. It wasn’t such a bad deal, she now had her own room and a place to keep what few belongings she had. All he asked in return was help running and maintaining the boat which was a rather simple job due to the small size of the ship. She knows it’s not at all likely, but she still hopes they’ll eventually find the barge she grew up on. ----She hasn't had much exposure to the world outside the barge she grew up on, and as such is distrustful of most new people she meets. Once she gets to know them, she's very kindhearted and easy to get along with. Having had a somewhat sheltered childhood she isn't the greatest at judging whether or not the particular person she's talking to should be trusted or not, which makes it easier to manipulate her. If left to her own devices she also has a habit of inadvertently getting herself into trouble. Lizzie's gear consists of a compound bow, knife, and occasionally a sidearm.